Interactive Brokers to pay $300,000 fine

BillyCrosby

Interactive Brokers Group Inc.
IBKR, +1.05%
agreed to pay a $300,000 fine for failure to properly register futures with the National Futures Association.

The NFA found that a small number of hedge funds that use Interactive Brokers to execute and clear their U.S. and global securities and futures trades hadn't been properly registered with NFA. The company also failed to report futures brokers' bank accounts to the NFA.

Earlier this year a new NFA rule was put into effect requiring futures commission merchants to electronically report the balances of their different accounts containing customer funds to a third-party vendor, which then provides the information to NFA. The NFA noted Interactive Brokers had failed to authorize the bank to report to NFA's vendor, but the error was quickly fixed.

"We have committed to NFA to assist the hedge funds that use our platform to make sure that they are properly registered or exempt from registration," said Interactive Brokers General Counsel David Battan.

In April, Interactive Brokers reported its first-quarter earnings fell 40% as currency fluctuations led to a segment loss in its market-making division and continued low volatility also weighed on performance.

Shares were unchanged in recent trading at $16.56 but have increased 13% over the past 12 months.

Intraday Data provided by SIX Financial Information and subject to terms of use.
Historical and current end-of-day data provided by SIX Financial Information. Intraday data
delayed per exchange requirements. S&P/Dow Jones Indices (SM) from Dow Jones & Company, Inc.
All quotes are in local exchange time. Real time last sale data provided by NASDAQ. More
information on NASDAQ traded symbols and their current financial status. Intraday
data delayed 15 minutes for Nasdaq, and 20 minutes for other exchanges. S&P/Dow Jones Indices (SM)
from Dow Jones & Company, Inc. SEHK intraday data is provided by SIX Financial Information and is
at least 60-minutes delayed. All quotes are in local exchange time.